


The Definition of Love

by StarSparkle2403



Series: a million words [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Clint Barton, Alpha Natasha Romanov, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Bruce Banner, Beta Sam Wilson, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce is practical, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Bucky knows the truth, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Insecure Tony, Kidnapping, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Not Compliant To Anything Past Phase One, Omega Bucky Barnes, Omega Tony Stark, Pack Dynamics, Protective Bucky Barnes, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony is a weird Omega, Unconventional Heats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14164452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSparkle2403/pseuds/StarSparkle2403
Summary: Tony's never had a pack to call his own. No one's ever wanted him to be part of one, so why would the Avengers be any different?





	1. Pack

Pack.

One word, one syllable, four letters.

Definition: a group of animals of the same kind, especially predatory ones.

What everyone searches to find, and what many do. If you have a pack, you’re set for life. You have friends, family, someone to rely on.

A pack takes care of its own. No one is left out in the cold. No one is ridiculed. No one is ignored.

Tony’s never had a pack. Not a proper one. Rhodey and Pepper are great and all, but Rhodey’s rarely around, Pepper’s busy with the company, and Tony’s always in his workshop. His parents had never been around either. When they were, they definitely didn’t act like a pack should.

Tony wasn’t all that shocked when the rest of the Avengers started to form a pack bond. After all, they got along, fought together, and lived in the same building. Why wouldn’t they?

He definitely wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t a part of their pack. Why would they want him? It’s not like he knew how to deal with a pack. And it had already been established that he wasn’t a team player.

Tony is not pack material. He knew it, and he knew it well, so why did he want to be in the pack so badly?

\----------

“Tony, have you been down here all day?” Steve asked, walking into the workshop. 

Tony nodded, still completely focused on the specs for the new Starkphone.

“Did you forget?” Steve asked, placing a hand on Tony’s shoulder and turning him around. “Tonight’s Movie Night. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“Why?” Tony asked. “Movie Night is a team bonding thing. I’m not technically on the team anymore, remember?”

Fury had removed Tony from the team roster a few weeks ago for his reckless behavior, and that definitely didn’t hurt. Iron Man was Tony’s life, and he wouldn't let anything happen to the team, but if working behind the scenes meant that he wouldn’t accidentally get them killed, then so be it. It gave him time to get back up to speed with the projects Pepper had been nagging him about. It was fine. He was fine. No problem.

Steve had a stubborn and slightly angry look on his face as he replied, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re still on the team and Fury can go jump in a bottomless hole.” Tony’s eyebrows rose. He definitely hadn’t expected that. “Now come on,” Steve said, his alpha voice creeping in around the edges. He grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him up.

Tony rolled his eyes but let Steve drag him to the elevator anyway. The alpha voice didn’t work on Tony for some reason, but he didn’t ever let on. Steve rarely used that voice, even out in the field, Natasha only used hers in dire situations, and Clint had never used his around the team, so it was pretty easy for Tony to keep that little detail a secret.

When they stepped out of the elevator, everyone was already gathered in the common area. Clint and Natasha were bickering over what movie to watch on one of the couches, Thor was laying on the floor, shoveling huge amounts of popcorn in his mouth, Bucky was scowling at Sam, who was sitting in Bucky’s favorite spot, and Bruce was in his armchair, curled up in a blanket with a small smile on his face as he watched everyone.

“We’re here,” Steve said. “What movie are we watching?” He flopped down between Sam and Bucky in an obvious attempt to prevent a fight as Tony headed over to Bruce and sat in front of the armchair. Bruce handed him his extra blanket and Thor paused in his eating to push the bowl of popcorn closer to Tony.

“We are going to watch Into the Woods,” Natasha said with her hand over Clint’s mouth. Clint made an indignant noise and pried Natasha’s hand off his mouth. He stuck his tongue out at her before stretching out on the couch and telling JARVIS to start the movie.

Before the movie finished, they had gone through over twenty bowls of popcorn, ten bags of M&Ms, and two boxes of Poptarts. Tony’s head had fallen back against the armchair and Bruce had started playing with his hair. His legs were stretched out over Thor’s back and he was comfortable enough to go to sleep, even though he knew his back would regret it in the morning.

Eventually, Tony did fall asleep, but it was only after Bruce’s fingers had stilled and Thor’s steady breaths helped him to drift off.


	2. Warmth

Warmth.

One word, one syllable, six letters.

Definition: the quality of being intimate or attached.

Packs are supposed to be full of warmth. At least, that’s what people say. Tony wouldn’t know. He’s had to rely on other people’s descriptions of pack life for as long as he can remember. All of the descriptions he’s heard are full of love and warmth and happiness.

Tony wants to have some of that, even if it’s just for a few seconds. He sometimes thinks he can feel it around the other Avengers, but it’s obviously just a trick his mind plays on him. Something to make him feel better. Something to stop the crushing loneliness that follows him around everywhere.

He knows that no one will give him a little bit of their warmth, that’s been drilled into him since he was a kid, but he can’t stop hoping. If he does, he may not want to keep going.

\----------

Tony wakes up before anyone else the next morning. He hasn’t slept that well for a long time. Bruce’s hand fell out of his hair sometime during the night, and Thor sleeps like the dead, so it’s easy enough to slip out of the room and into the kitchen. He starts up the coffee maker and grabs a bagel out of the box on the counter.

He sticks the bagel in his mouth, pours himself a cup of coffee, and is about to leave the kitchen when he catches a glimpse of something that makes his eyes go soft and warmth fill his chest.

During the night, everyone had somehow grabbed on to each other. Steve, Sam, and Bucky were curled up together and one of Sam’s hands was laying on Bruce’s arm. One of Bruce’s legs was touching Thor’s side while Thor had a hand on Natasha’s ankle. Completing the circle, Clint had his legs in Natasha’s lap and his arm crossed the gap between the couches to rest in the crook of Bucky’s neck.

From where Tony was standing, he could almost feel their pack bond. He longed to be part of it, but instead of staying, he shook his head and headed back down to his workshop. He had work to do and deadlines to meet. Plus, he had to fix Clint’s bow before the next battle and upgrade Natasha’s Widow Bites. Wishing for things he couldn’t have could wait until later.

\----------

The Assemble alarm went off not even two hours later. Luckily, Tony had just finished with Clint’s bow. Three minutes earlier and he would have been screwed.

Clint came bouncing in, already suited up with his quiver on his back. “Here you go, Katniss,” Tony said, tossing the bow to him. “All fixed and ready to go. Have fun kicking some supervillain ass.”

“Nuh, uh. You’re coming with,” Clint said, dragging him out of his chair and over to where armor was displayed. “You’re part of the team whether Fury likes it or not.”

“What is it with you people dragging me places lately?” Tony asked as the glass slid down from in front of the armor. “First Cap and now you. Who’s next, Bruce?”

Clint just rolled his eyes and pushed him closer to the armor. “Hurry up, you’re my ride,” Clint said. “It’s my turn to arrive at the battle in style.”

Tony stepped into the armor and let it encase him. The hatch in the ceiling opened up and Clint stepped up onto Tony’s boot. They shot through the hatch and up twenty floors before they took a sharp right that made Clint squeak and hold on a bit tighter. 

They flew out into the sunlight and headed straight to where slime monsters seemed to be trying to eat the Empire State Building.


	3. Home

Home.

One word, one syllable, four letters.

Definition: the place in which one’s domestic affections are centered.

Stark Manor had never been home to Tony. It was where he grew up, but it would never be home. Home is where you feel safest, and Tony never felt safe in that house.

The closest thing to home he had was Jarvis. The first one.

Jarvis was more of a father to him than Howard ever was. He took care of him when he was sick, read him bedtime stories, and made him feel safe. He was the person Tony ran to whenever Howard got drunk and went on a rampage. Jarvis was home.

Then he died.

\----------

It took the team three hours to figure out that the slime things melted when they touched water, and after two hours and a lot of help from the local firefighters, they were finally done.

Tony touched down next to Steve and said, “Want a lift?”

“Yes, please,” Steve replied tiredly. “Let’s go home.”

“That sounds like an amazing idea,” Bruce said tiredly, having just de-Hulked.

“On to the Tower!” Thor said cheerfully as he scooped Natasha, Clint, and Bruce into one arm. Steve stepped up on Tony’s boot, just as Clint had done before, and they took off with everyone else right behind them.

Tony’s mind was racing. _“Home? They think of the tower as home?”_ he thought. _“When did that happen?”_

\----------

“Ah, home sweet home,” Clint said with a groan, flopping face first onto the couch.

“Move over,” Bucky said, shoving Clint’s legs off the couch and sitting down. Clint immediately put his legs in Bucky’s lap and buried his face in a pillow. Bucky rolled his eyes exasperatedly, but he didn’t push Clint’s legs away. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Steve asked Tony.

“How long has that been going on?” Tony asked him, ignoring Steve’s question completely.

Steve looked around, confused, before saying, “What do you mean?”

Tony nodded at the two men on the couch. “Those two. When did they start bonding?” Steve turned to look and seemed to catch on. 

Clint had turned over on his back and was grinning at Bucky. Bucky was glaring at him, but his eyes gave him away. The grayish blue was filled with fondness and what just might be love.

“I think it started a couple weeks after Bucky came to the tower,” Steve said. “I caught them cuddled up together watching Dog Cops in the middle of the night.”

“Huh.” Tony watched them for a few more minutes. The more he watched, the more it made sense. “They’re good for each other,” he finally said.

“Yeah,” Steve replied. “Bucky told me that being with Clint is like coming home. He knows everything is going to be okay.” 

Tony looked up and locked eyes with Steve. The bright blue of Steve’s eyes engulfed him and the other man’s smile lit up his world.

“I think I know what he means,” Tony said quietly. His eyes widened and he turned away when he realised what he said. “Uh, I’ve got to go, um, do stuff,” he said hurriedly and sped off toward his workshop.

Tony didn’t see the way Steve’s eyes softened as he watched Tony walk away, and he ignored the tiny tug in the pit of his stomach that told him to go back.


	4. Bond

Bond.

One word, one syllable, four letters.

Definition: something that unites individuals or peoples into a group.

There are many kinds of bonds, but there are two that Tony has never experienced. A pack bond and a mate bond.

Steve, on the other hand, has felt a pack bond. The Howling Commandos were family to him. They had each other’s backs through thick and thin and they supported each other no matter what. The others never said anything about Bucky being an Omega. They protected him, guarded him when he went into heat.

Steve hadn’t been lucky enough to have found a mate of his own. Peggy was an amazing woman, but she wasn’t the one for him. They just didn’t click. 

His mother had always told him that mates are precious, and that he should cherish his when he found them. When he crashed into the ice, he thought he’d never find a mate of his own, but he had. 

And Steve was going to do his damnedest to make sure he was safe.

\----------

In the past week, the Avengers had been called out to deal with four super villains, three press conferences, and two school appearances. Tony had went to five meetings and to Hong Kong for Stark Industries.

He hadn’t slept for more than two hours the entire week.

Tony got back from Hong Kong at one in the morning and was surprised to find that Steve was still up. And in the penthouse. He leaned against the wall and said, “I thought you went to sleep at eight every night. What’s an old man like you doing up?”

Steve looked up from his sketchbook and said, “I was waiting for you.” He got up and went over to Tony. “I knew that you would just go down to your workshop if no one stopped you, so I stayed up.”

As he walked closer, Steve could feel their mate bond slowly reforming. It had been strained by time apart, which Steve didn’t like. Even though their bond was new and not quite fully formed, Steve could, at times, feel Tony’s emotions. It made him twitchy when he couldn’t feel Tony.

“You really didn’t have to do that,” Tony said. “I can take care of myself.” Tony tilted his head up to look Steve in the eye. The hostility that had been there when they first met was nowhere to be seen.

“I know you can,” Steve said, smiling. “But you need sleep.” He grabbed Tony’s elbow and gently steered him toward the bedroom.

Tony grinned up at him and said, “Aren’t you going to buy me dinner first?”

“Go to sleep and I will tomorrow,” Steve replied.

Tony stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide. “What? You mean, like just as a friend, or?”

“I was hoping it could be a date,” Steve said with a small smile. 

“Uh, um, okay,” Tony stuttered. “I’m just gonna go.” He turned and walked into his bedroom, a blush firmly planted on his cheeks.

\----------

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Bruce told Steve. Steve’s smile faltered. “I mean, I know you really like Tony, and I know you think you two are forming a bond, but it’s impossible.”

Steve sighed. “I know,” he said. “Tony’s a Beta.”

“Right. And if an Alpha bonds with a Beta, it doesn’t turn out well,” Bruce continued, but stopped when Steve’s eyes filled up with tears. 

Steve rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Then try to stop the bonding. You know what will happen if you don’t.” Bruce knelt down in front of Steve and took the other man’s face in his hands. “Steve. Look at me.” Steve did, his blue eyes shining with tears.

“I can’t,” he said. “I can’t stop it.” Steve looked at the ground. “I think I love him.”

Bruce could only watch as Steve broke down crying. “Maybe it is too late,” Bruce said. 

Steve looked up at him questioningly.

“Even if he doesn’t know it yet, I think he loves you too.”


	5. Kidnap

Kidnap.

One word, two syllables, six letters.

Definition: to steal, carry off, or abduct by force or fraud.

Tony had been kidnapped many, many times during his life. Up until his father died, he had been kidnapped for a ransom. His father never paid it, so eventually the kidnappers stopped trying.

Lately, he hadn’t been kidnapped quite as much, and after Afghanistan, he hadn’t been at all. 

Tony guessed that no one wanted to invoke the wrath of Iron Man.

\----------

Steve checked his watch for the fifth time in just as many minutes.

 _“Where is he?”_ Steve thought. _“Tony said that he would meet me here, so where is he?”_

Just then, his phone began to ring. “Hello?” he said, but there was only static on the other end. “Hello? Who is this?”

Only a second before Steve hung up, a voice said, “Captain Rogers? It’s JARVIS.”

“JARVIS? What’s wrong?” Steve asked. “Is it about Tony?”

“It is. Someone shut me down for a few minutes, and when I came back online, I couldn’t locate Sir,” JARVIS replied.

“I’ll find him,” Steve assured the AI before hanging up and racing back to the tower.

_“I’m coming, baby, don’t worry.” ___

__\----------_ _

__Tony woke up in chains, dangling from his wrists a couple inches off the ground. His shoulders were already aching and his hands were almost asleep._ _

__“Ah, you’re awake.”_ _

__His captor sat on a chair in front of him, but it was too dark to see any defining features._ _

__“Hope you don’t mind hanging out here for a while,” the man said, then laughed. “It’ll be quite some time before your pack gets here.”_ _

__Tony laughed. “My pack?” he asked. “I don’t have a pack.”_ _

__The man turned his back on Tony and said, “You don’t know how lucky you are.”_ _

__\----------_ _

__“It’s been two days. Why can’t we find him?” Steve asked frantically as he paced back and forth._ _

__“We’ll find him. Don’t worry, Stevie,” Bucky said, placing an hand on Steve’s arm._ _

__“How can you tell me not to worry?” Steve asked. “We don’t know where he is or who has him, and he’s probably scared, and he might be hurt, and-”_ _

__Bucky reached out and pulled Steve into a hug. “Calm down. We’ll find him.” Steve relaxed into Bucky’s arms and buried his face in the other man’s neck. “You started bonding with him, didn’t you?” Bucky asked softly._ _

__Steve nodded. “Yeah.” There was a pause before Steve said, “Aren’t you going to tell me that it’s a bad idea?”_ _

__“Why would I do that?” Bucky asked._ _

__“Because he’s a Beta? And both people in an Alpha and Beta pairing can die if they stay bonded long enough?” Steve replied, pulling back to look Bucky in the eye._ _

__"What do you mean? Tony’s not a Beta,” Bucky said._ _

__“Wait, what?” Steve asked, totally thrown for a loop._ _

__“He’s an Omega, like me.”_ _

__“How do you know?” Steve asked. “He doesn’t smell like an Omega.”_ _

__“I can sense it. You know, like how you can sense when another Alpha is nearby.”_ _

__Steve went silent for a moment before he said, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”_ _

__“I thought you knew,” Bucky replied. “You guys have known him for longer than I have. I assumed he told you.”_ _

__“Well, he didn’t,” Steve said._ _

__As Steve began to walk away, Bucky said, “There’s one other thing.” Steve turned around, one eyebrow raised. “I think he’s going into heat soon. I could smell it on him.”_ _


	6. Heat

Heat.

One word, one syllable, four letters.

Definition: sexual receptiveness in animals.

Heats had always been awkward times for Tony. He had never had a true Alpha, so he always had to ride it out on his own. Rhodey had offered a couple times to help him out, but Tony had always said no.

That would be like sleeping with his brother. No thanks.

The weirdest thing was that after Afghanistan, his heats hadn’t been the same. He had no desire to have sex with anyone. He just wanted to be close to someone. He wanted sleepy cuddles and hugs and forehead kisses.

But he didn’t have anyone to do that with.

\----------

Tony’s eyes snapped open in the middle of the night.

 _“Oh, god no,”_ he thought. 

He could feel his body temperature and heart rate begin to rise as the heat overwhelmed his body.

“No, no, no, no. Not now, please. Any other time, but not now,” Tony muttered under his breath.

He could smell the Betas guarding the door, but knew that they wouldn’t be able to stop any Alpha that set their mind on getting to him.

Fear swelled up inside him, and he whispered, “Please, any god that’s out there, let someone find me. Anyone. Anyone but these animals. Preferably Steve. Yeah. That would be nice.”

Just then, he heard banging on the door. The rock started to crack and Tony started to whimper in fear. The door buckled inward and Tony flinched away, closing his eyes reflexively.

Footsteps came toward him, and before he knew it, his arms were released from the chains they were wrapped in and he collapsed into strong arms. His face was pressed into the man’s neck, and even though he was terrified, the human contact felt so good.

“Steady,” the man said, and cold metal pressed into the back of his neck, cooling him down a little. Tony took a deep breath and all he could smell was gunpowder, dark chocolate, and another, calmer scent that he couldn’t name.

“Bucky?” Tony said.

“It’s me,” the man replied. “Come on, we’ve got to get you out of here.” Bucky lifted Tony up into his arms, keeping Tony’s face pressed into his neck, and walked out the door. 

The motion of Bucky’s steps lulled Tony into a deep sense of peace that he had never experienced before. He felt almost complete, but there was one piece missing. He just couldn’t think of what it was.

\----------

“Buck? Where are you? Did you find Tony?” Steve asked into his comm unit.

“I’m almost back to the quinjet,” Bucky replied, making Steve sigh in relief. “And, yes, I have him. He’s pretty out of it though.”

“We’ll leave as soon as you get here,” Steve said, before clicking the comm off.

Steve had wanted to go with Bucky into the depths of the HYDRA compound, but Bucky had reminded him that if Tony was in heat, he may freak out if he smelled an Alpha coming at him, no matter who it was. It broke something in Steve to hear that he could scare Tony, but he knew Bucky was right, so he settled for smashing HYDRA goons in the face as payback for hurting his Tony.

Bucky walked up the ramp and into the quinjet, Tony in his arms. A sweet smell reached out and grabbed Steve. His eyes locked onto Tony and his feet took him directly to him. He reached out a hand and brushed a lock of hair out of Tony’s face. 

Tony’s eyes opened and it took a second before he could focus on Steve. His chocolate brown eyes were glassy, but there was a spark of recognition and a small smile curved his lips. Tony reached out and touched Steve’s jaw lightly. Steve grabbed onto the other man’s hand and placed a kiss on his knuckles, pulling a sigh from between Tony’s lips.

Bucky moved a bit closer and placed Tony in Steve’s waiting arms. He nodded to Steve then went over to where the rest of the team was sitting.

As the quinjet took off, Steve sat down with Tony curled up in his arms and whispered, “I’m going to take such good care of you, sweetheart, just you wait.”


	7. Affection

Affection.

One word, three syllables, nine letters.

Definition: fond attachment or devotion.

Tony hadn’t gotten much affection from anyone growing up, and especially not from his parents. In fact, he rarely even caught their attention, and when he did, it never turned out well for him.

His whole life, he had longed for someone to do all those silly couple things with. Someone to keep him company on rainy days, to comfort him when nightmares got the better of him.

He wanted a mate.

He'd known for the longest time that he would never have one, though. After all, who wants to be mated to a guy with a fucked up childhood and a list of insecurities a mile long?

\----------

Tony had no idea where he was.

He knew that he wasn’t in that cell anymore, but this place was even scarier.

Why? Because all of the Avengers were staring at him.

“Uh, hi?” he said warily.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Clint said cheerily.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, he felt a wave of heat pass through him. His eyes widened. _“Oh, god. Not in front of them. Let me get away first,”_ he thought.

Steve sat down on the bed next to him and ran a hand through Tony’s hair. “Hey, you feeling okay?”

“Uh.” He looked around the room, barely registering that it was his own, his eyes skipping over the rest of the team. He caught Bucky’s eye and the other man stood up.

“Why don’t we give these two some privacy?” Bucky said. Clint began to say something, but Bucky grabbed his arm, pulled him close, and whispered something in his ear. Clint brightened up and practically dragged his mate out of the room.

Natasha rolled her eyes and followed them out of the room, Bruce, Thor, and Sam behind her.

“You can go with them if you want,” Tony said as another wave of heat passed through him, this time followed by a stabbing pain in the pit of his stomach.

“No, I think I’m going to stay right here,” Steve replied before pulling back the covers and slipping in next to Tony. “You shouldn’t be alone when you’re in heat.”

“I’ll be fine,” Tony said, a bit desperately. “You can go, really.” He shifted away from Steve uncomfortably.

“We called Pepper,” Steve said. Tony’s head snapped around to look at him. “She told us what heats are like for you,” he continued, a soft smile on his lips. He held out an arm and Tony hesitated, studying Steve’s face for any sign that he was going to do something against Tony’s will.

 _“Oh, come on,”_ Tony berated himself. _“It’s Steve. He’s nothing like-”_ He shook his head before refocusing on the man in front of him.

He moved closer and pressed up against the larger man’s side, sighing in relief when the pain in his gut went away. Steve wrapped his arm around Tony and pulled him up so that they were both sitting against the headboard.

“There you go,” Steve said quietly. His hand rubbed up and down Tony’s side soothingly, as if he sensed that Tony was still a little apprehensive about this.

There was a knock at the door and Bruce stuck his head in. “I brought food,” he said quietly, and Tony’s stomach grumbled in response. Bruce smiled at Tony as he walked in and said, “I thought you might be hungry.” He set a tray with a whole bunch of fruit on the nightstand on Steve’s side of the bed. 

“They didn’t feed you when you were in that cell, did they?” Bruce asked sympathetically before running a hand through Tony’s hair. Even though Bruce wasn’t an Alpha, it still felt amazing to Tony’s heat addled mind. Bruce smiled at Tony before nodding to Steve and turning and leaving the room.

When he was gone, Tony reached out to grab some of the fruit, but Steve gently guided his hand away. Tony looked up at his, slightly baffled, but Steve answered his silent question by saying, “Let me do it.”

Tony’s eyes widened as Steve picked up a piece of melon and held it up to the brunet’s lips. He opened his mouth and took it, all the while staring at Steve.

 _“How the hell did he know that I like when people do this for me?”_ Tony thought to himself. 

Steve kept feeding him until all the fruit was gone, and the whole time, his hand was rubbing up and down Tony’s side until he was completely relaxed against the bigger man.

Tony yawned and leaned heavily into Steve’s side. “You need to sleep,” Steve said. He moved them so that they were both laying down on their sides, facing each other, then pulled Tony close. Tony cuddled even closer and nuzzled into Steve’s chest.

Just as he started to drift off to sleep, Tony felt Steve press a kiss to the top of his head.


	8. Nightmare

Nightmare.

One word, two syllables, nine letters.

Definition: a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

Nightmares weren’t a new thing for Tony. They had plagued him for almost his whole life.

First it was his father stumbling around in a drunken rage, then it was faceless alphas using him in any way they wanted, then it was a cave that went on forever.

Now it was the wormhole.

\----------

_Dark. Cold._

_An explosion in the distance. So bright against the dark vacuum of space._

_The HUD flashing warning signs and JARVIS talking, then silence._

_The portal closes, cutting off his only escape route._

_Just Tony in a useless suit of armor, forever drifting…_

“Tony. Tony, sweetheart, wake up.”

Steve’s face hovered above him when Tony opened his eyes. 

“There you go,” he whispered, running a hand through Tony sweaty hair. “You’re safe. It was just a dream.”

Against his will, tears appeared in Tony’s eyes and ran down his cheeks. “Steve…”

The larger man gathered Tony into his arms and held him close, letting Tony cry on his shoulder.

Eventually, Tony ran out of tears and pulled away from Steve. “Sorry about that,” Tony said quietly, wiping his tears away.

“Don't be sorry,” Steve replied. “Never be sorry for crying. It just means you’re human.” He pulled Tony back into his arms and held him tight. 

Tony snuggled closer, enjoying the other man’s warmth. He knew he wouldn't get much time to do this. After all, Steve was just seeing him through his heat because Steve is a nice person. 

“Stop over thinking this,” Steve mumbled into his hair. 

“I’m not over thinking anything,” Tony replied defensively.

“Yes, you are.” 

Damn Steve and his perceptiveness.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Steve assured him. There was a moment of silence before he said, “Go to sleep, Tony. I'll be here when you wake up.”

Safe and warm in Steve’s arms, Tony got the sudden urge to hold on tight and never let go. He didn't want this to end.

As he started to drift off, he tilted his head up and placed a kiss on Steve’s jaw. The larger man let out a low growl and buried his face in Tony’s hair.

Tony fell asleep surrounded by his Alpha’s warmth and protection, even if he didn't realize that Steve’s heart belonged to him.


	9. Mate

Mate.

One word, one syllable, four letters.

Definition: one member of a pair of mated animals.

Tony never expected to find a mate of his own. In fact, he thought that he’d be alone forever.

Steve had a habit of proving him wrong.

\----------

When Tony woke up, his face was smashed into a warm, broad chest. He lifted his head up and saw blue eyes watching him.

Steve smiled and ran his hand through Tony’s hair. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Morning,” Tony yawned, nuzzling into his chest. “Don’t you usually go for a run in the morning?”

“Usually,” Steve replied. “But I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Tony sat up, rubbing his eyes. “It’s okay, I’m awake now, you can go.”

Steve rolled over and wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, burying his face in Tony’s stomach. “I think I’ll stay here,” he said. “You still have a couple days of your heat left, and I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I wouldn’t be alone. JARVIS is here, and I’m sure Nat wouldn’t mind coming to check on me,” Tony said, even though the thought of Steve leaving make him want to cry.

“NO,” Steve growled, arms tightening around Tony. “You are mine. No other alphas.”

Tony’s eyes widened in shock. _“Did he just say what I thought he said?”_ Tears started to gather in his eyes.

Steve stiffened and pulled away a bit. “Sorry, that makes it seem like you’re a possession. I didn’t mean it like that,” he said quickly, taking Tony’s face in his hands. “I just meant that I don’t like the idea of other alphas being near you.” He paused. “That doesn’t sound any better,” he murmured to himself.

Tears began streaming down Tony’s face as he said, “I know what you meant, and I want to be yours, I really do.”

Steve’s blue eyes shone with happiness and he had a huge smile on his face as he tackled Tony into a hug. The tears stopped falling as laughter filled the room. 

The two wound up on the floor, tangled in blankets. Steve nuzzled into Tony’s neck and whispered, “My mate.”

“And you’re mine,” Tony whispered back. 

Steve smiled and said, “Yours.”

\--------

The whole team was happy that the two had finally got their act together. Bucky slapped Steve on the back and said, “Told you,” before going over to help Clint convince Thor to put Tony down.

When he was finally freed, Tony came over to Steve and hugged him. He placed a light kiss to Steve’s lips and said, “I guess this means I’m part of the pack now.”

Steve just laughed and replied, “You always were.”


End file.
